Tamil rebels claim government troops have killed more than 1,000 civilians

Sri Lanka's Tamil rebels said government troops have killed more than 1,000 civilians in a raid on their territory.

However government forces deny the accusation and claim they rescued thousands of civilians yesterday after they broke through a barrier built by the rebels.

Last night the military said 52,000 had escaped.

But as troops have pushed the rebels into an ever-shrinking sliver of territory, both sides have accused the other of endangering civilians.

Injured civilians lie on the ground in a make-shift hospital near a village in northeastern Sri Lanka

Human rights groups say the rebels are holding many against their will to use as human shields.

But those groups have also accused the government of indiscriminate shelling in the tightly packed region in its bid to end the 25-year war.

It is not possible to obtain independent accounts of the situation because the war zone is restricted to journalists.

The U.N. estimated that more than 4,500 civilians have been killed in the past three months, and several humanitarian groups warned that any government efforts to launch an assault into the densely-populated rebel area would result in a dramatic increase in casualties.

The rebels said in an emailed statement that more than 1,000 civilians died in the government raid and that nearly 2,300 were wounded.

The rebels claim nearly 2,300 civilians have been wounded by the government troops

'And today a situation of bloodbath is prevailing,' the rebels said.

'Our troops are rescuing the trapped civilians. It's the LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) which is preventing civilians from fleeing,' said military spokesman Brigadier Udaya Nanayakkara.

A total of 39,081 civilians fled the war zone yesterday, the largest exodus in a single day according to Nanayakkara.

At least 13,000 people crossed over today he said, but the stream was continuing.

The number of fleeing civilians made it clear that the government had vastly underestimated how many people were caught in the fighting.

While aid groups had estimated that about 100,000 civilians were trapped ahead of this week's exodus, the government had said the figure was about 40,000.

The international Red Cross warned that a final offensive 'could lead to a dramatic increase in the number of civilian casualties'.

The U.N. Children's Fund said it fears for the safety of children still trapped in the war zone if fighting continues and the rebels refuse to allow people to leave.

'With this latest surge in fighting, our greatest fear is that the worst is yet to come,' said Daniel Toole, the agency's South Asia director.

Human Rights Watch, which said between 50,000 and 100,000 civilians remained stranded, warned more will die if the government launches a major attack.

'Both sides need to show far greater concern for civilians, or many more civilians will die,' said Brad Adams, the New York-based group's Asia director.

The international Red Cross warned that the final offensive by government forces 'could lead to a dramatic increase in the number of civilian casualties'.

The rebels have fought since 1983 for an independent state for Sri Lanka's ethnic minority Tamils.

More than 70,000 people have been killed in the years of violence.

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Tamil rebels claim government troops have killed more than 1,000 civilians